Pioneering athletics project that put ex-gang members on the right track

Two former gang members told today how a unique coaching project pulled them away from a life of crime and turned them into promising athletes.

Moses Bawo and Confidence Lawson said they risked going to jail or getting killed after growing up in a world where violence and carrying weapons was part of everyday life.

But Track Academy, a charity funded by Comic Relief, has helped transform their lives. Both are now at university and aiming to compete as sprinters with Team GB.

The project provides athletics training, mentoring sessions and support with studies.

Mr Bawo, 21, from Neasden, said that during his time as a gang member two friends were shot dead and four ended up in jail: "Holding guns and drugs was normal. Loads of people were carrying weapons. They would say, 'It's just in case.'"

He joined Track Academy, based at Willesden Sports Centre, after his athletic prowess was spotted by a teacher. Now a sports science student at Middlesex University, he is tipped to compete in world and European championships and future Olympics.

Mr Lawson, 21, from Croydon, told how he re-evaluated his life after his friend was stabbed when he was 15.

After leaving behind his old life and joining the Academy, he became the 12th fastest person in Britain. He said: "The majority of people I used to hang around with are in jail but I am a changed man. I just want to run and keep winning." He is now studying illustration at Hertfordshire University.

More than 600 young people, aged 11 and over, are registered with Track Academy. It is run by Connie Henry, who won bronze in the triple jump at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Participants train between three to five times a week and have access to top coaches as well as mentors. It received a £30,000 grant from Comic Relief in 2010, when it was formed.

Another success story is 18-year-old Annie Tagoe. Before joining the project, the A-level student from Willesden was excluded from school 32 times. She is now a top athlete and competed at the Youth Olympics in 2010. She said: "At school I got into fights and misbehaved the whole time until one of my teachers dragged me down to the track and introduced me to Connie. Since then, my life completely turned around. I am now confident and a changed person."

Ms Henry said: "Athletics is just a hook we use to get people through the door. If we create an Olympic medallist that's a by-product of what we do. I have had children who have stood on street corners selling drugs and others who have dropped out of school due to gang pressure.

"We offer mentoring and coaching and also aspirations to follow in the footsteps of role models. To see your coach on TV at the Commonwealth championships, then see them back at the track putting you through your paces, has an effect on these kids that you can't put into words. What we offer is life-changing."